Minutes of the Third Meeting of the Bureau of the Asia Pacific Ministers’ Conference on Housing and Urban Development

Date : 3 rd February, 2008 Venue: Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Participants :

Honourable Kumari Selja Chairperson, Bureau of APMCHUD and Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Republic of India

Honourable Manoucher Kajeh Dalouee Vice Minister for Housing and Urban Development Islamic Republic of Iran

HE Ahamed Al-Mufleh, Ambassador Embassy of Jordan in Tehran

Mr Yu Fulong Counsellor Embassy of China in Tehran

Mr. Zulfikley Abdulla, Counsellor Embassy of Malaysia in Tehran

Dr Azer Khanralow, Agency for Emergency Operations Republic of Azerbaijan

Mr. Sunil Kumar Singh Joint Secretary (Housing) Govt. of India and Chief Coordinator, Bureau of APMCHUD

Representative from UN-HABITAT

Mr. Markandey Rai Coordinator, Global Parliamentarians UN-HABITAT, Nairobi Other Participants

Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran:

Mr. Alehabib – DG – Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Sadegh Sadeghpur – International Affairs Department - MHUD Mr. Farjami - Deputy Minister – MHUD Mr. Mousavi – Deputy Minister – MHUD Dr. Fatemi Aghda – President of BHRC Mr. Hashemi – Deputy Minister – Ministry of Interior Mr. Rashidipour- DG – MHUD Mr. Rostami – Dep. DG – MHUD Mr. Nader Jafari – DG – MHUD Mrs. Mohammadzadeh - International Affairs Department – MHUD Mrs. Amani – Tehran Conference secretariat Mr. Babak Pirouz - Tehran Conference secretariat Mrs. Amini Jadid - Tehran Conference secretariat Mr. Khansari - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Government of India:

Mr. Manbir Singh, Ambassador of India to Iran, Tehran Mr. KL Dhingra, CMD, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) Mr. Manoj Aggarwal, PS to Hon’ble Minister Dr. P Jayapal, Executive Director, HUDCO Mr. Rajesh Goel, Deputy Chief, HUDCO

Welcoming the members to the 3 rd meeting of the Bureau of the APMCHUD, the Chief Coordinator indicated that this meeting is being held at Tehran in the light of the specific decision of the Bureau in its 2 nd meeting to have a specific focus on the preparations for the forthcoming APMCHUD conference in Tehran.

The Hon’ble Chairperson of the Bureau Kumari Selja expressed her gratitude to H.E. Mr Mohd Saidi Kia, Hon’ble Minister for Housing and Urban Development and HE Mr Manoucher Kajeh Daloui, Vice Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Islamic Republic of Iran for extending invitation to the Bureau to hold its 3 rd meeting in the historic city of Tehran. On behalf of the Bureau members, she conveyed her sincere appreciation for the personal interest taken by the Hon’ble Ministers from Iran for the hospitality and kind courtesies extended to the Bureau members and for facilitating holding of this meeting in a congenial and pleasant atmosphere.

Recalling that the Bureau had, in its Second meeting held on 27 th October 2007 at Amman had specifically desired the Third meeting to extend a special focus on the preparations for the forthcoming Second Conference of the APMCHUD, scheduled at this same city in May 2008, the Chairperson indicated that this meeting is being held here to have an intense review and discuss the activities to be taken up to ensure that the second Conference is a grand success.

The Chairperson highlighted the various initiatives taken by the Executive Secretariat of the Bureau subsequent to the Second meeting of the Bureau at Amman. She specifically highlighted the improvements undertaken in the web- site of APMCHUD in line with the suggestions given during the launch of the web site at Amman. The chairperson further informed the Bureau that in pursuance of the decision of the APMCHUD to urge all the member countries to establish a coordination committee at the their national level, to mainstream issues of housing and urban development, she had written to all the countries and expressed her happiness on the positive response received from a number of countries such as Maldives, Mongolia etc. She urged all the other member countries as well, for expediting the process of setting up this important pre- requisite that would help us to address the critical issues in a focussed manner.

The chairperson further expressed her appreciation of the significant support being extended by the representatives of the Missions/Embassies of the Member countries of the Bureau at Delhi for effectively facilitating in the coordination of Bureau’s activities.

The Hon’ble Vice Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Islamic Republic of Iran HE Mr Manoucher Kajeh Daloui welcomed the members of the Bureau to Iran. He conveyed the best wishes on behalf of the Hon’ble minister, Mr. Mohammed Saeedi Kia, who could not personally participate as he had to undergo an operation and was recovering. He expressed his appreciation of the significant initiatives being taken by the Chairperson in furthering the agenda of APMCHUD. He also thanked the Bureau for holding this meeting at Tehran as this would be extremely helpful for the Government of Iran in receiving appropriate guidance and support in the successful organisation of the 2 nd Conference of APMCHUD.

He briefly explained the steps taken for the successful organisation of the 2 nd conference of APMCHUD and expressed that for the success of the event, the continued support of the Bureau members, the Secretariat and the UN-Habitat would be absolutely essential. He emphasised that the forthcoming conference would contribute significantly towards forwarding the ambitious agenda of APMCHUD agreed upon in the Delhi Declaration.

After the brief remarks by the dignitaries, the agenda items were taken up for discussion.

Item No. 1: Confirmation of the Minutes of the Second Meeting of the Bureau of the Asia Pacific Ministers Conference on Housing and Urban Development held at Nairobi on 27 th October, 2007.

The Chief Coordinator indicated that the minutes of the 2 nd meeting of the Bureau were circulated to the members and also the same were posted on the web-site of APMCHUD. He further informed that no comments have been received and accordingly placed the same for consideration of ratification.

In regard to the setting up of the permanent executive secretariat, the representative from China indicated that they are of the opinion that the issue of setting up of the permanent executive secretariat may require consideration at a wider level. He further indicated that the roles of a regular set up for the APMCHUD need to be considered in the light of the existence of specialized bodies on infrastructure development for the Asia Pacific region.

Responding to the same, the Chief Coordinator indicated that establishment of a permanent Secretariat of the Bureau was a mandate under the 'Delhi declaration' vide its clauses 15 which requires the Bureau to convene within four months ‘to identify the modalities of establishing the Secretariat and other organs. In the meantime, an Interim Secretariat may be established in India as soon as possible’. Further vide Clause 16 it was further desired that 'upon finalization of the modalities of establishment of the Secretariat and other organ the same may be put as an Appendix to the Delhi Declaration.'

Further, the suggestion for setting up of a permanent secretariat in Delhi, where an interim secretariat had already been set up in pursuance of the Delhi Declaration, had come up in the first meeting of the Bureau at Nairobi. This meeting was participated by H.E. Mohammad Saeidi Kia, Minister of Housing & Urban Development, Islamic Republic of Iran , H.E. Ms. Fu Wenjuan, Vice Minister, Ministry of Construction, Peoples Republic of China, H.E Eng. Shehadah Abdallah Abu Hdaib, Director General, Housing and Urban Development Corporation, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, besides India. Representatives from Azerbaijan, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea did not participate in the meeting. During the meeting, the Minister from Iran proposed that the Permanent Secretariat be set up at New Delhi which was duly supported by Jordan. However, the Vice Minister from China indicated that they would like to provide their views shortly, and however, they would definitely like to go along with the views of the other Bureau members in this regard. As agreed in the meeting the countries were to send their comments on the issue, if any. The minutes were forwarded to the members through mail, email and as well through their local missions in Delhi. However no comments were received from any of the members. The formalization of the permanent executive secretariat was a follow up of the same in the subsequent meeting at Amman, Jordan, during 27- 28th October, 2007. The meeting was participated by HE Husni Abu Ghaida, Minister of Public Works and Housing, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, HE Manoucher Kajeh Dalloui, Vice Minister for Housing and Cities, Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Dato’ Hasnudin Hamzah, Ambassador of Malaysia to Jordan and Mr. Kanan Murtuzov, First Secretary, Embassy of Republic of Azerbaijan at Jordan, besides India. China and Papua New Guinea did not participate in the 2nd meeting. The minutes were also posted on the website besides being forwarded to the members through mail, email and as well through their local missions in Delhi. No comments were received from any member country at this stage as well.

Reacting to the issue, the representative of UN-HABITAT indicated that the item under discussion was the ratification of the minutes of the discussions held in the meeting at Amman, and supported ratification of the minutes.

The Chairperson invited the members for any other comments. There being no other comments, the Bureau agreed to approve the item. It was also decided to record the comments of the representative from China.

Item No. 2: Action taken report on the decisions of the Bureau of APMCHUD in its Second meeting.

The Chief Coordinator informed the Bureau of the actions taken pursuant to the decisions taken by the Bureau in its 2 nd Meeting held at Amman, Jordan on October 27, 2007.

The Chief Coordinator indicated that as part of the Agenda Item No. 3 on ‘Establishment of the Secretariat for the Bureau of the APMCHUD and Action Plan for the same’, the Bureau had decided to add two additional responsibilities to the Executive Secretariat, and accordingly the same has been affected. Further, in regard to the ‘time frames’ for the various actions by the Bureau, it was indicated that the time frame would be finalized for consideration in the next meeting of the Bureau. In regard to the sources of finance for the Permanent Secretariat of the Bureau, the Chief Coordinator indicated that a proposal shall be put up after the details are collected in regard to various options etc. It was also highlighted by the Chief Coordinator that as decided in the 2 nd Bureau meeting, the minutes of various Bureau meetings has been posted on the website and a communication has also been addressed to all member countries seeking their support and contribution for enriching the website. The Bureau noted the above actions taken.

In regard to the various items discussed in the 2 nd meeting under Item No. 4 ‘Any other Items with the Permission of the Chair’, the Chief Coordinator presented the status as under:

In regard to facilitating the Government of Iran in holding the 2 nd Conference of APMCHUD at Tehran, Iran by the Bureau Secretariat by providing the necessary available information to the organizers, the Chief Coordinator indicated that the same have already been provided and assured any further assistance from the Bureau, as may be required in this regard.

In respect of holding of PREPCOM by APMCHUD and UN-ESCAP before the next World Urban Forum, as proposed by the UN-ESCAP, the Chief Coordinator indicated that as decided by the Bureau, a communication has been sent to UNESCAP for coordinating the same with the Government of Iran. The Chairperson requested UNHABITAT to coordinate with UNESCAP for enabling the Government of Iran to take further necessary action in regard to hosting of PREPCOM.

The Bureau noted the above actions taken on the decisions of the Bureau in its 2nd meeting held at Amman.

Item No.3: Status on seeking support from the multi-lateral Institutions for the APMCHUD Initiative – a report

The Chief Coordinator informed the Bureau that in continuation of the communication addressed by the Chairperson seeking the support of multi-lateral Institutions, a meeting was organized by the Executive Secretariat of the Bureau with the local representatives of various multi-lateral Institutions at Delhi. It was further indicated that the efforts would be continued on a sustained basis.

The Bureau noted the above.

Item No. 4: Status of preparations for the 2 nd Conference of APMCHUD at Tehran

The Chief Coordinator indicated that the focus of this meeting is on the preparations for the 2 nd Conference of APMCHUD scheduled to be held in Tehran. He invited the Hon’ble Minister from Iran to present the Agenda Item to the Bureau.

H.E. Mr. Manoucher Kajeh Dalloui, the Hon’ble Vice Minister for Housing & Urban Development, Islamic Republic of Iran, thanked the Bureau for extending a special focus towards organizing the 2 nd Conference in a successful manner. The Hon’ble Minister made a detailed presentation to the Bureau.

He indicated that the Government of Iran has established the Second Conference Steering Committee and based on consultations with the Bureau of Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference and UN-HABITAT and also in view of the fact that the Conference outcomes are to be presented in the Fourth World Urban Forum scheduled to be held in Nanjing, China in October 2008, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran has selected 12- 14 May 2008 as the date to hold the second conference.

The Hon’ble Minister further briefed about the status of Actions taken for the Second APMCHUD. It was indicated that the Venue for the Conference will be the IRIB International Conference Center and Hamayesh Sazan-e Emrooz, a private firm has been engaged as in-charge of implementation. It was further indicated that an exhibition on Investment Opportunities in the Iranian Housing & Construction Sector would also be held on the sidelines of the Conference.

Indicating that an exclusive website ( www.apmc-housing.ir ) has been created for the 2 nd APMCHUD Conference, the Hon’ble Minister mentioned that the same is being regularly updated. The organizers have also established regular contacts with the Secretariats of UN-HABITAT and APMCHUD in New Delhi.

The conference would commence with an opening ceremony followed by discussions in the five identified Thematic Working Groups which will deliberate for the first two days of the Conference. The final day will be participated by the Honorable Ministers and high level officials who will approve the Declaration of Tehran Conference and the Conference will conclude with statements by His Excellency Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Hon’ble Minister further indicated that the Steering Committee has approved the main theme for the Second Conference as ‘Sustainable Urban Development: Associating Growth with Equity and Identity’. It was highlighted that the Steering Committee has attempted to maintain continuity in the Thematic Working Groups of the New Delhi Conference even while adding a new working group on Natural Disasters, which is a shared and common issue across the Asia- Pacific Region, as the Fifth Thematic Working Group.

The Hon’ble Minister informed that five Thematic Groups have been constituted, namely, Urban and Rural Planning and Management; Upgrading of Slums and Informal Settlements; Delivery of MDGs for Water and Wastewater; Financing Sustainable Housing: Enhancing, Affordability and Quality of Low-Income Housing; and Urban Development with a Focus on Natural Disasters

The Hon’ble Minister requested the Heads of each working group to give a presentation on the topics to be covered under each working group. Thereafter, respective Chairmen of the five Working Groups presented the contents/topics of each of the themes. In regard to Thematic Working Group 1, Urban and Rural Planning and Management, the topics enlisted cover (i) Urban Planning and Management Process, (ii) Rural Planning and Management Process, (iii) Indigenous-Regional Architecture and Urban Development, (iv) Role of Information & Data Bases in the Improvement & Enhancement of Urban Projects, and (v) Role of Non-Governmental Sectors' Involvement in the Urban & Rural Planning & Management.

In regard to the Thematic Working Group 2, Urban Slums Upgrading, the topics enlisted cover (i) Provide a supportive environment for the activities of the informal sector including the micro enterprises within the framework of National Regulations, (ii) Strengthen the role of gender in the management of local governments in the development process, especially in slums upgrading projects, (iii) Encourage and promote people-based and community-based policies & programs, (iv) Enabling and regularizing informal settlements with an emphasis on the local communities and a citywide perspective, and (v) Renovation & Rehabilitation of Urban Dilapidated Fabrics and utilizing the existing potentials and capacities for endogenous development with a participatory approach.

In regard to the Thematic Working Group 3, Delivery of MDGs for Water and Wastewater, the Topics enlisted cover (i) Planning for the expediting and completion of water supply and distribution systems and the collection and treatment of rural and urban wastewater; (ii) Optimized Management of urban water and mobilizing financial resources, (iii) Supporting research and innovations in the water and wastewater industry, (iv) Role of women and culture generating within sustainable urban management, and (v) Urban water management, informal settlements and neighborhoods

With regard to Thematic Working Group 4, Financing Sustainable Housing: Enhancing Affordability and Quality of Low-Income Housing, the topics enlisted cover (i) Housing Construction and Retrofit Technology, (ii) Create a better understanding of urban land dynamics for the development of urban land market in Asia- Pacific Region, (iii) Low-income and Special groups' Housing, and (iv) Housing Finance

In regard to Thematic Working Group 5, Development of Sustainable Urbanization with a focus on Natural Disasters, the topics enlisted cover (i) Prevention of disasters (including planning, urban development, design of multi-functional spaces, retrofitting, etc.), (ii) Preparedness including social issues, education and training, elevation of public c ulture, and (iii) Reconstruction and renovation of areas damaged by disasters and accidents

The Hon’ble Minister further indicated that a report would be finalized after the conference, the framework of which would cover What have been done in the sector, lessons learnt, the problems faced by the sector, the way forward and action plan for the same and mechanism to create a single and united voice for the countries of the region. He also indicated that arrangements would be made in the venue for simultaneous translation into English/Arabic.

The chairperson thanked and congratulated the Hon’ble Vice Minister, Housing and Urban Development, Islamic Republic of Iran for the excellent and comprehensive presentation. She appreciated the outstanding efforts made by Iran in conceptualizing and comprehending the entire sequence of this important event in a detailed manner. The Chairperson assured continued support from the Secretariat and on behalf of the members of the Bureau for the success of the event. She especially requested the UNHABITAT to extend all possible help in this regard.

The representative from UNHABITAT, Dr. Markandey Rai, assured to work closely with the host country and the Secretariat for providing all assistance as may be required for the successful conduct of the Event. He further indicated that this conference is in continuation of the first APMCHUD Conference at Delhi an action oriented plan need to be evolved which would facilitate effective implementation of the ‘Delhi Declaration’. He also opined that it is time that a Trust Fund is created to sustain the APMCHUD initiatives and take forward. Appreciating the significant media presence during the Bureau meeting, he emphasized the need for a major publicity effort for the main conference. He also opined that for effective participation a few least developed countries may need financial support for participation. He suggested that similar to participation the Hon’ble President of Iran in the valedictory function, a suitable dignitary could also be identified for the opening ceremony of the conference.

The Hon’ble Minister from Iran sought the support of the members of APMCHUD for technical support for enriching the documents to be given to the delegates on various topics to be deliberated in the conference. The time available being short, he sought technical help from the member countries, Bureau secretariat and UNHABITAT for identifying technical experts for various topics and requested specifically UNHABITAT in this regard.

The Chairperson thanked the UNHABITAT for its commitment to support the APMCHUD initiatives and assured the organizing committee of the conference, the Bureau’s support. She informed that officers from the Executive Secretariat can be deputed to help the Iranian Government whenever required by them.

She further requested the organizing committee to hyper-link the conference website to the main website of APMCHUD ( www.apmchud.com ) for a wider dissemination of information on the forthcoming event. Responding to the same, the Hon’ble Minister from Iran indicated that the hyperlink could be effected with the APMCHUD website shortly.

The Chairperson also desired that all the member countries of APMCHUD be requested to prepare their country reports on actions taken subsequent to the Delhi Declaration on issues highlighted therein.

The representative from Jordan thanked the Hon’ble Vice Minister, Housing and Urban Development, Government of Iran on the comprehensive presentation and efforts made by the organizing committee in the preparation of conference.

The representative from Azerbaijan, Dr. Azer Khanrolov, conveyed his appreciation to the organizing committee for its vision and meticulous planning for conducting the 2 nd conference in a successful manner. He assured the help of Government of Azerbaijan in the successful conduct of the event.

The Hon’ble Minister from Iran welcomed the suggestions from the members of the Bureau and the Chairperson for the success of the forthcoming conference.

Item No.5: Any other items with the permission of the Chair.

Ensuring a larger participation of member countries in the 2 nd APMCHUD Conference at Tehran:

The Bureau was of the unanimous view that all efforts should be made to ensure a larger participation at the ministerial level of the member countries of the APMCHUD. It was felt that the forthcoming conference is a very important event to evolve viable mechanisms to implement the objectives of APMCHUD for ensuring sustained growth of APMCHUD initiatives. The chairperson requested all the member countries to do their best to ensure the success of the 2 nd conference of AMPCHUD at Tehran.

The 3rd meeting of the Bureau ended with a vote of thanks to the Chair.